The subject application relates generally to corn headers used with combine harvesters. In particular, the subject application relates to an improved corn header having a row divider with a conveyor that lifts a down crop up off the ground and then propels the crop plants rearward into the combine harvester.
An agricultural combine is a machine used to harvest a variety of crops from a field. During a harvesting operation of, e.g., corn, a corn header at the front of the combine cuts ripened crop from the field. A feederhouse then transfers the crop material into the combine. Threshing and separating assemblies within the combine remove grain from the crop material and transfer the clean grain to a grain tank for temporary holding. Crop material other than grain (MOG) exits from the rear of the combine. An unloading auger transfers the clean grain from the grain tank to a truck or grain cart for transport, or to another receiving bin on or off machine for holding.
Combines that harvest corn are provided with row dividers for directing rows of corn stalks to ear separation chambers or stripping plates and then to an auger for conveying the corn to the feederhouse of the combine. Conventional corn headers rely on the forward motion of the tapered row divider to lift and move crop plants into the combine. However, sometimes a portion of a down crop will fall sideways in a row, making such stalks difficult for conventional corn headers to lift. This situation results in economic loss either when the unprocessed stalks are damaged when they are run over by the combine, or when a second pass needs to made for another attempt at lifting the overrun stalks.
Thus, there is a need for a combine harvester that is capable of reliably lifting down crop even when significant numbers of the crop plants may have fallen at irregular angles from a crop row. This need is satisfied by the subject application of a row divider having a conveyor for an agricultural harvester.